The lyrics on Sharon Van Etten's fourth album don't always make for easy listening. "He can break me, with one hand," she falsettos during one chorus, whereas another moment has her recoiling: "I see your backhand again." Your Love Is Killing Me, meanwhile, features broken legs, cut tongues and burned skin. As with her 2012 breakthrough album Tramp, these revelations feel intimate and shocking, and gain further power when Van Etten appears to fall back under her lover's spell. If only the songwriting – which so often conforms to accomplished but trad indie-rock norms – was as brave. There are interesting moments here: Our Love's unusual harmonies, for instance, or Afraid of Nothing's orchestral slow build. Every Time the Sun Comes Up is a stirring closing number. But Van Etten's melodies often feel as if they're not quite taking flight, and rarely cause you to catch your breath the way her lyrics do.